A Cold Plate
by gabicpa
Summary: Having a normal life was killing the MacManus brothers. After the prison, they had to move, change their last names and pretend that nothing had happened. But, then, a beautiful girl enters Connor's life and everything changes. A story about love, rancor, and revenge. They said it's best served in a cold plate. We'll see about that. [Connor x OC]
1. Chapter 1: The Girl From The Diner

_**A/N:**_ I don't usually start a story when I'm writing another one, but I had this crazy idea in my head for a perfect Connor/oc and my friend **Hadley** convinced me to write it (as my thanks, I put her name on this story). Anyway, I don't know what I'm going to do with this one, so don't expect me updating it every week. I'm just going to post the first chapter and then see how it goes. But my principal fic is the Merle/oc that I'm writing and you can find it in my profile. Anyway, I hope you like it? Idk what I'm doing.

_Also_, if you don't read my other fic, then you must know that I'm Brazilian, so English + Irish accent = shit. So, I tried. I really tried to write their accents, but it's hard, ok, give me a break. Just imagine their accents while you're reading. Idk what I'm saying it's almost three in the morning and I'm really tired.

Okay! Stop talking, Gabrielle! (Or writing, whatever)

Enjoy!

~oOo~

The Nightmare became common for her on the lasts six years. She dreamed it every single night. The gunshots, the screams. Her father's screams. Her father's coworkers' screams. And blood. Blood everywhere. She stepped into the room one second before everything go to hell. She couldn't see the shooters at first; she just felt a pair of strong hands pulling her to the closet. The same hands covered her mouth stopping her from screaming her father's name. After a moment, the loud gunshots stopped. She could peek through the door that they had put her father on his knees. She couldn't hear what they were saying; the loud shooting noise had left a soft buzz on her ears. But then she saw it. The moment that they shot her father. She wanted to scream and run to her loved father, but the hand covering her mouth held her tight, stopping her from moving. Tears were streaming down on her face and her breath was uneven. She could see them now, it was pretty clear. She could swear one of them looked at her. Looked right into her eyes and smiled. A smile she would never forget.

She woke up with a sharp gasp, soaking in sweat and breathing heavily. She felt extremely hot and saw that she had slept with three blankets on top of her. She pushed the blankets to the floor and looked at the clock. Five in the afternoon.

"You had it again?" Her partner asked. He was lying beside her, on his back with eyes still closed. She didn't answer and sat on the edge of the bed. He knew the answer. The man opened his eyes to see her naked back turned to him. He stood his arm to touch her and she tensed. "You okay?" He asked, concerned.

The girl looked over her shoulder and nodded, smiling lightly. She rubbed her eyes and got out of the bed, picking up his shirt from the floor and dressing it. Stumbling, she walked towards the kitchen, to look for a glass of water; her throat was extremely dry. She heard the phone ringing in the room and opened the cabinet to get a glass. She filled it with tap water and drank it. Suddenly, she felt two arms wrapping around her torso. For a moment, she tensed again, but then, she felt his lips on her neck, making her sigh.

"I've got some great news." He whispered in her ear. She moaned in response, sighing once more. "They're out."

~oOo~

[Two years later]

Connor was cleaning the balcony with an old rag and Romeo was in the kitchen, cooking for the customers. Murphy was mopping the floor, right behind his brother. The diner had just opened and the first customers were already waiting for their meals.

The Irishman sighed. It wasn't like them. That job, that city, it just didn't fit them. He missed the old times, when they always had somebody to kill, when they always had some action on their days. Now it's all gone. They were forced to move from Boston, change their last name and pretend that nothing had happened.

Connor's thoughts were interrupted when another customer entered the diner. The girl sat at the bar and put her head on her hands, sighing.

"Can I help ye?" Connor asked, making her jump, scared.

"Jesus, you scared the shit out of me!" She exclaimed, putting a hand on her chest. Connor laughed and she smiled, laughing too.

"Well, sorry." He answered. "I really hope yer wearing diapers."

"Oh." She replied, laughing at his joke. He noticed her perfect white teeth and the way her hair fell on her face all the time. She laughed for a while, and then put a hand on her chest, taking a deep breath. "Funny, you're funny. Can I see the menu?"

"Sure." Connor picked up the menu from the shelf behind him. The girl studied the menu and Connor looked at his brother, raising an eyebrow. Murphy shrugged and kept mopping the floor.

"Oh!" She exclaimed and Connor looked at her again. "I'll have scrambled eggs with bacon and waffles with whipped cream. And a black coffee."

She smiled at him, returning the menu. Connor wrote her request in a paper. He put the paper in the tiny entry at the wall that separated the kitchen from the dinner and pressed a bell. After making sure that the Mexican actually heard the noise and picked up the request, he turned around to see the girl. Her eyes were on the TV at the wall, watching the news. Connor followed her gaze and saw the news lady talking.

"Today is the second anniversary of the release of the Saints from the Hoag Maximum Security Prison. The three men were never seen anywhere since then. The Saints were condemned by the murder of more than twenty men in the last eighteen years."

"Aren't the Saints those crazy people who killed bad guys believing that they were doing the right thing?" The girl asked, taking Connor's attention of the television. He looked to girl who seemed to know nothing both the Saints and what they did. Connor looked at his brother who looked back with furrowed eyebrows.

"Aye." Connor replied after a while.

"You guys look at me like I was living in another planet." She laughed, reaching for her jacket pocket and taking her phone from there. "Truth is I lived in Italy for most part of my life, so I really don't know what happened in the past..." She made a pause and furrowed her eyebrows, looking up, like if she was doing math. "Fifteen years in this country."

She laughed and smiled. The brothers stared at her for a moment and then Murphy cleaned his throat, looking down. He opened his mouth to say something but she interrupted him before.

"I mean it's not like what they did was wrong, right?" She lowered her voice to the other people at the diner didn't hear her. "Call me crazy, but I think they should be in every major city." She looked down at her phone and laughed.

Connor and Murphy thought about that quote. The quote that their dear friend said many years ago. Both men looked at each other then looked at the girl. This time, Connor actually looked at her. He looked at her long black hair tied on a side braid; her eyes with almost no makeup at all; her leather jacket; her short nails painted red; everything on her. Looking so young, so innocent. The girl was pretty, he couldn't deny that. He remembered the days when he used to flirt with girls like her. The days when he used to go McGinty's, and get into bar fights with Murphy. He remembered Doc and his "fuckass" thing. The poor old man was already dead when they got out of the prison. They didn't get the chance of saying goodbye to his loved friend.

A loud noise snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked behind him. Her meal was ready. He picked up both plates and put right in front of her.

"Thanks, uh..." She narrowed her eyes to read his name tag. "Connor."

She smiled at him as he put the coffee on her table.

"Aye, and you are?" He replied.

"Julie." She smiled and offered her hand to shake. Hesitant, Connor shook it and Julie could see his tattoo on his hand. "Cool ink." She commented. "What does it mean?"

The Irishman pulled his hand away and looked at the tattoo. He was about to say something but his brother interrupted him.

"I'm Murphy." He said, offering his hand to her. She shook it, gently and smiled. She looked at Connor again and frowned.

"Are you guys related?" She asked, putting a fork full of eggs on her mouth.

"Aye, we're brothers." Murphy smiled.

Julie nodded. "Figured. You have the same accent." She took a sip of her coffee. "Who's the oldest?"

Connor and Murphy stared at her, trying not to laugh at the memory of their mother. Julie stared at them as well, waiting for the answer. The moment was interrupted when another customer entered the dinner. Julie looked behind her and then to her food again.

"Your turn." Connor mumbled to his brother. Murphy sighed and mumbled back.

"Snotface."

Murphy walked towards the new customer, leaving Connor and Julie alone. There was a moment of silence between the two of them, but then he decided to make small talk.

"So, black coffee, huh?" He asked, leaning his elbows on the counter. Julie nodded, swallowing the last bacon that was on her plate.

"Gotta stay awake." She smiled, moving on to the waffles. "After last night…" she interrupted herself after realizing she had said too much.

"Life of the party, right?" Connor smiled at her. She shook her head, putting another piece of waffle on her mouth. She chewed for a couple of seconds and then answered him.

"I started to work at this bar yesterday." She paused to swallow the food. "They made me close it at four in the morning. I only had two hours of sleep."

"What kind of bar makes a girl close the place at four in the morning?" Connor frowned.

"The kind of bar that has rituals for the new workers." She shrugged.

"Don't ye think you're a bit young to work in a bar late at night?" He gave her a half smile.

She laughed and shrugged. "I'm twenty-one, actually."

Connor raised his eyebrows and Julie laughed again.

"Yeah, well." She giggled even more.

_This girl surely laughs about everything._ Connor thought.

"Maybe you and your brother should come by tonight." She picked up a card from her pocket and handed him. "And, you know, give me some tips." She smiled, playfully. "It helps to pay the rent."

He read the address on the card. He thought that maybe they could go and meet new people, maybe even make some new friends. Shit, he couldn't even remember when was the last time they had meet new friends. But he was too old for that. Both of them were, actually.

"Where did ye say ye lived?" Connor asked.

"I didn't." She shook her head.

Connor waited for her to say something, but she didn't.

"Aren't ye gonn' tell me?"

Julie laughed at him, but this time, he could sense that she was mocking him.

"What for? You gonna go there and kill me?" She reached for her jacket pocket again, picking up her wallet. "I'm gonna have to call the Saints, right?" She laughed again, putting a fifty dollar bill on the counter, beside her empty plates. "You can keep the change."

She stood up, sighing and smiling at him for the last time. "See you around." She said, giving him a half smile. "Give your brother a goodbye kiss for me."

Julie walked away, toward the door and got out of the diner, leaving Connor with his mouth slightly open. That was when Murphy came back and noticed his brother.

"Better close it or flies will come in." He said laughing. He realized that Julie wasn't there anymore and sighed. "Ah, why did ye scare our friend away?"

"Oh, shut it!" Connor looked at his brother, dropping the card.

"What's that?" Murphy picked the tiny card with the address of the bar. "The Phoenix?"

"It's the bar where Julie works." Connor replied. "She invited us to go there tonight."

"Really?!" Murphy exclaimed. "Hey, Romeo!" He called his friend, and slipped his head on the small entry. "We've got ourselves a night out!"

Romeo dropped the pans he was using to cook. "You kidding me?!" The Mexican walked him and Murphy gave him the card. "The Phoenix?"

Murphy smiled like a little kid to his friend and picked up the card again. Connor just frowned and leaned against the counter again.

"I don't know, don't ye think we're too old for this?" He said, sighing.

"For what?" Romeo asked, his head still tucked in the small entry.

"Goin' to bars and shit."

There was a moment of silence before Murphy and Romeo started to laugh.

"Live a little, brother!" The youngest twin said, putting an arm over his shoulder. "It's been a while."

"I've lived a lot, thank you very much!" Connor exclaimed.

"Well, live a little more." Murphy let go of his brother and walked away from him. "We're goin', anyway, with or without ya."

~oOo~

Julie stood outside the bar, at the alley where a few workers used to have a break. It was late at night, probably past eleven. She chewed her gum, while slowly smoked, making the cigarette last the longer it could. She crossed her arms and shook her legs with hope of getting rid of the cold wind that went through her. She wasn't even halfway done smoking, when someone called her.

"New girl, you've got customers." Hadley, the girl who also worked at the bar, said, stopping at the backdoor and leaning against the door frame.

"I'm on my break." Julie answered, without even looking at her.

"They asked specifically for you."

Julie looked at her, frowning.

"And one of them is reeeeally cute." The girl smiled at her; perfect white teeth shining, the result of many years of using braces.

Julie sighed and threw away her cigarette, using her black louboutins to step on and walked toward her coworker. Entering the bar, she stopped at a mirror hanged on the wall and adjusted her black short skater skirt. She brushed her hair with her fingers and took off her jacket, leaving it hanged on.

"Which table?" She asked.

"Four." Hadley answered, also brushing her hair with her fingers.

Julie sighed and got into the bar, taking a notebook from the pocket of her apron and approached the table four. When she saw who was there, the biggest smile crossed her lips.

"So you guys really came." She said, catching the attention of the three men sitting in the table.

Connor almost didn't believe in what he saw. The girl from the diner, who asked for eggs and bacon for breakfast, was looking like a completely different person. She was wearing a short skirt with a blue t-shirt that had a neckline so deep, that he could see her breasts almost popping out of her bra; black thin pantyhose that didn't seem to get her warm at all. Her hair was curled in soft curls that fell on her shoulder gently; with bright red lips and sharp eyeliner on her eyes. Connor even almost thanked his brother for forcing him to come with them.

"Aye." That was all that he could answer.

"I really thought you were going to leave me waiting." She smiled.

"We could never do that to our favorite customer." Murphy replied, giving her a half smile.

Romeo cleaned his throat and offered a hand to Julie. "Hi, I don't think we were introduced before, but I'm Romeo." He said, smiled.

"I'm Julie." She answered and then shook her head. "Well, enough talking, what do you guys want for tonight?"

"We just want three beers for now." Connor answered. Julie looked at him and nodded to him, smiling.

"Okay, anything else?"

The three men shook their heads in response and she nodded to them.

"Then, I'll be right back." She started to turn around but stopped in the middle of the action when something popped on her mind. She turned to Murphy and slightly narrowed his eyes at him, tilting her head a little. "Did you get my message?"

Murphy looked confused at her and shook his head. She opened her mouth, forming an 'O' and looked at Connor.

"Don't you say you didn't give your brother a good bye kiss for me." She said, putting her hands on her hips.

Connor laughed and shrugged.

"What, you left a goodbye kiss for me?" Murphy asked, with puppy eyes.

Julie leaned beside Murphy and took his hair out of his eyes. Connor could see Murphy looking straight at her neckline and rolled his eyes. The girl planted a kiss on his brother's right cheek, leaving a lipstick mark on him. After that, she smiled and turned around walking toward the back of the bar.

"She's very…" Romeo started talking, but couldn't finish his sentence.

"Mesmerizing." Connor completed for him. Murphy smiled and picked up a napkin, brushing on his cheek, trying to clean the lipstick mark on him.

"Hey, Connor." He said with a grin. "She's wearing a black bra."

Romeo started laughing and Connor rolled his eyes again.

"Oh, grow up!"

Murphy laughed along with his friend.

"So, what's his name?" Hadley asked Julie back at behind the counter, where the girl had gone to pick up the beers.

"Jesus, Hadley!" Julie exclaimed, jumping out in scare.

The other girl giggled. "Sorry." She said. "But, seriously what's his name?"

"Who?" The brunette turned around.

"The one you just kissed." Hadley looked at the man using a napkin to clean the lipstick mark.

"Oh, Murphy?" Julie asked, picking up a tray from the lower shelves at the counter.

"Murphy…" Hadley repeated. "Is he Italian?"

"Why would Murphy be an Italian name?" Julie frowned and put the beers on the tray and opening them.

Hadley shrugged. "I don't know… What kind of name is Murphy anyway?"

"The not American kind." Julie smiled at her joke. "It's Irish."

"Oh." There was a pause between them. "How do you know that?"

"Their accents, probably." Julie shrugged, holding the tray and started to walk away from her, but Hadley held her shoulder.

"No, wait." She said. "You gotta introduce me to him."

"Why?" Julie frowned.

"Because…" She paused for a moment and then whispered the last part of the sentence. "It's been a while since I don't…"

Julie frowned and tilted her head. "Date someone?"

"Fuck someone, Julie! It's been a while since I don't fuck someone, okay?!"

"Oookay."

"Seriously, I think there are spider webs down there-"

"I don't need the details, Hadley!" Julie interrupted her coworker. "Look, why don't you just wait for your shift is over, then you go there and introduce yourself?"

"No." Hadley replied. "You have to introduce us. Please."

Julie rolled eyes, sighing. "Fine." She answered.

Hadley smiled and tried to hug Julie, but she didn't let her. She pulled away quickly, creating an awkward situation between both girls. Hadley, then, just touched her shoulder.

"Thank you." She said and Julie smiled, lightly getting away from her. She walked towards the table again, smiling like always.

"I'm sorry it took so long." She apologized.

"Oh, don't worry, love." Murphy said and Julie smiled, but without showing her teeth this time. "Why don't ye sit here with us for a moment?"

"Oh, I can't." Julie replied. "I'm still working, but…" She looked at the clock on the wall. "My shift actually ends in half an hour, so if you guys just wait for a little more, I could join you."

"Perfect!"

[Half an hour later]

"So, Murphy I need to introduce you someone." Julie said, sitting at the table, beside Connor. Her apron was now gone and she was wearing the same leather jacket she wore in the morning.

"Oh, really?" He leaned on the table, the smell of alcohol going right through her nose. Both Murphy and Romeo drank a lot on that night. Julie stopped counting on the third shot of Jack Daniel's, she served them. Connor however didn't seemed to enjoy the night that much.

"You see that girl over there writing something on her notebook?" She pointed where Hadley was, leaned on the counter at the bar.

"Yeah?"

"Her name is Hadley and she's 23 years old." Julie kept talking, and looked at him. "And she finds you extremely attractive." She gave him a half smile and leaned on the chair, taking a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. "She's also looking for a night out, if you know what I mean."

Murphy smiled and without saying a word he stood up.

"Don't wait for me, brother." He said, and walked toward Hadley. Julie watched the scene and smiled.

"Got fire?" She asked him.

Connor took a lighter out of his pocket and lit her cigarette.

"Where's your friend?" She blew a smoke, looking to the empty seat where Romeo was sitting before.

"Went to talk to some girl." Connor answered, looking away.

"Oh, someone's a little grumpy today." Julie mocked him, laughing. "What happened?"

He just shrugged, picking up his own cigarette and lighting it. Julie pushed him gently with her shoulder.

"C'mon I won't tell anyone." She said and smiled. Connor sighed giving up.

"It just… I almost didn't come." He confessed.

"Why? Didn't want to see me?"

"No, no!" Connor tried to explain. "I-"

"It's fine, I'm joking." She laughed and put a hand on his cheek. "You gotta stop taking everything seriously. Live a little."

He looked at her and frowned. "That's the exactly same thing my brother told me this morning." He commented.

"Really?" Julie smiled. "Maybe that's a sign."

"A sign from whom?"

She shrugged. "God?"

He stared at her for a couple seconds. He watched her smoking and smiling at the people at the bar. The girl was loved in that place, he could see that. Everyone asked for her to serve, men and women, and she smiled to them all, doing as they asked. In Connor's eyes, she was innocent and pure. He half smiled and put an arm on the back of the chair she was sitting.

"Yeah, maybe it is." He mumbled and she smiled.

~oOo~

Connor and Julie were carrying a drunken Romeo through the streets of Brooklyn. It was past 3am and both spent the rest of the night talking and laughing. Julie told stories from her past and Connor told her about his childhood. Murphy was still with Hadley; Julie had received a "thank you text" from her, saying that he was going to her house with her. They reached a small building, near by the diner that the three men worked.

"So you all live in the same apartment?" Julie asked, while Connor sat Romeo at the stairs of the building door. The girl stood a few meters away from them, looking at the brick building.

"Aye." He answered, walking toward her.

"Doesn't get a little..." She interrupted herself and tilted her head to him.

"Gay?" Connor completed her sentence.

Julie laughed. "I was going to say crowded, but-"

"Oh, then yes. Absolutely." Connor smiled. They stared at each other in an awkward silence for a while.

"Say something." Julie said, pushing his shoulder gently.

"Uh… Yeah, tonight was great." Connor tried. "I'm glad my brother forced me to go to The Phoenix."

Julie gave him the brightest smile ever. "Yeah…" She said, still smiling. "I'm glad I met you."

Connor didn't know what to say, or what to do. He didn't know if he thanked her or if he kissed her. He spent a few seconds trying to make his decision, until he realized he didn't have a lot of time. He leaned toward her, slowly. Her heart raced on her chest and she closed her eyes.

"Just kiss her already!" Romeo yelled and laughed, making both jump in scare and look at him. Julie laughed, a little disappointed with his interruption.

"I- I should go now." She said, looking at the ground and slipping her hands on her jacket pocket.

"Ye sure you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I don't live far from here." She said, looking at the streets. "Well." She smiled again and started walking away. "You know where to find me."

"Actually, I don't." Connor smiled, remembering the conversation between both of them at the diner. She stopped walking and remembered that too.

"Right." She laughed. "But I know where to find you." She pointed to the building and laughed again. "Good night, Connor."

"Good night." He said and watched her as she turned her back to him, walking away; her shoes echoing in the empty streets. He sighed and turned to Romeo, picking him up from the floor.

"Why didn't you kiss her, man?" The Mexican mumbled, making Connor laugh.

What he didn't realize was the strange person that stood on the other side of the street, watching them both laugh and enter their home.


	2. Chapter 2: Comfortable Silences

_**A/N**_: Happy New Year everybody! I was very inspired yesterday and decided to write another chapter (: I hope you enjoy it!

Also, the song Julie and Connor danced to is Since I First Met You by The Robins, if you want to listen, it's beautiful. If I ever get married, this song will be played on my wedding.

~oOo~

"But Connor, she's perfect!" Murphy exclaimed to his brother, still a little drunk from the night before. The Irishman had awake his brother by trying to sneak on the apartment in the morning.

"Murph, it's seven in te fuckin' morning!" The other brother said, rubbing his eyes and sitting on the kitchen table in front of him. "On a fucking Sunday! I thought you would be fine by now! Did you sleep at all?"

"Oh, no." Murphy laughed picking up a dirty bowl from the table. "We didn't sleep." He picked the cereal box.

Connor frowned and wondered if the drinking of the night before had affected his brother more than he thought it would.

"Te fuck?!" Murphy exclaimed looking at the empty box of milk. "There's no milk?"

Connor sighed. _Yep, he's still drunk._

"Dammit, Murphy what te hell did you do in the girls house?" He said and Murphy smiled. "Forget it! I'm going back to bed."

He stood up but his brother called him. "You're not gonna buy milk?"

"Where te fuck am I going to buy milk?!" Connor answered, frowning and turning around to face his twin. "It's Sunday!"

Murphy shrugged. "The diner may have some."

The oldest twin sighed and pinched his nose, putting a hand on his hips. "Fine." The Irishman gave up. "I'll get your fucking milk."

Connor walked toward the bedroom and heard his brother scream from the kitchen. "I love you!"

_And yer drunk._

Connor only noticed the cold air outside the apartment when he left. His gray sweater and his peat coat didn't keep him warm until he started walking toward the diner. The sun was shining, but the air was cold. Connor walked quickly through the almost empty streets, trying to get in the diner as fast as possible. The passed the church he came once in a while with Murphy and Romeo. He turned his head to look to the building and remembered the church at Boston. God, how he missed that city.

He bumped on a girl on the street, due his lack of attention on his path, making her drop her phone, earbuds and shades on the ground. The girl quickly crouched to pick them up and Connor looked down at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't-" He started to talk but she interrupted him.

"No, it's okay." A familiar voice replied. "I was distracted."

The girl stood up and faced Connor, smiling.

"Hi." She said.

"Julie?" He frowned looking down at her. She looked much shorter with the huge high heels. Her hair wasn't in soft waves anymore, it was in a natural waved and a little wet. She wasn't wearing any makeup on, except for little coats of mascara again. She was wearing a black short dress, with thin black tights and a black buskin. On top of that, she had the same leather jacket from last night.

"The one and only." She replied smiling. Connor smiled at her.

"What yer doin' here?" He asked. "It's seven-"

"In the morning, on a Sunday." She nodded, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, my neighbor already told me that." She sighed. "But I'm an early bird."

Connor smiled at her, looking at her brown dark eyes. She bit her lower lip, looking down at her phone, a little ashamed. When the Irishman didn't speak, she kept talking.

"I was going to the church." She pointed her thumb toward the church.

"It only opens at eight."

"Yeah, I know that now."

Both stood there, in an awkward silence; Julie looking at the streets, lightly smiling and Connor just looking at the girl. The fact that he just stumbled on her was amazing for him. He didn't get her phone or address, there was no way he would meet her any soon. And yet, there he was, standing right in front of her and… Saying nothing.

"I'm going to te diner, get some stuff." He said, after blinking and coming back to reality. "Wanna come?"

"Okay." She smiled.

Both started walking through the streets in a surprisingly comfortable silence. Connor liked being quiet around Julie. He felt like just the presence of the girl was enough for him.

Connor led Julie to an alley where the backdoor of the diner was. Picking up the keys from his pea coat's pocket and opened the door. They entered in what it looked like it was a dressing room for the employees to change the clothes; it was a little messy, but she didn't care.

"Sorry 'bout the mess." Connor said, embarrassed.

"Oh, no." Julie smiled at him. "It's fine, the dressing at the bar is even worse."

Of course she was lying. The Phoenix wasn't the best bar in the world, but it had a decent dressing room at least. She followed him to the kitchen, both in silence. Connor walked straight to the refrigerator to get Murphy's stupid milk. Julie leaned against a small counter that Romeo use to put the ingredients for cooking.

"You never told me how you got here." Julie broke the silence. Connor froze; the milk in his hands. He was glad his back was facing her, so she couldn't see the panic on his face. "How did you guys get this diner? It's amazing."

Connor tried to fake a cough, to have more time to think in what to say.

"We, uh-" He cleared his throat, turning around to face her. "We moved a while ago."

When she didn't speak, he kept talking.

"We were trying to look for a job, so we found this diner. The owner was an old man who died a few months later we were hired. He left the diner to us."

Connor closed the refrigerator and walked towards her, leaning against the table beside her.

"Yer hungry?" He asked in an attempt of changing the subject. Julie smiled, looking up at him.

"I thought you'd never ask." She replied.

~oOo~

"You make better eggs than the Mexican guy does." Julie said as she shoved a fork full of scrambled eggs. Both were sitting in a table at the diner, eating the breakfast Connor made.

"Romeo?" He laughed, chewing his food. "Yeah, he's better with Mexican food."

Julie chuckled. There was a silence between them; only the sound of the tableware hitting the plates as they eat their meal.

"You said you were goin' to the church." Connor broke the silence. "Didn't know you were te religious type."

Julie swallowed her food before answering him. "I'm not, but today is kinda a special day."

He looked at her, as she lowered her eyes to her almost empty food.

"May I ask ye why?" He asked, in a quiet tone.

She looked up to him, with the unsure expression on her eyes. She considered saying no to him, but, eventually, gave up, telling him the truth.

"It's my father's death anniversary." She whispered.

Connor felt his heart drop inside his chest when he saw the look on her eyes. Sadness. It was all he could see. Suddenly, the playful and smiley Julie was gone, and a sad, serious Julie replaced her.

"Just thought, I could go… And light a candle for him at least once." She said, a lump forming in her throat.

Connor reached out and took her hands, lightly squeezing it. She looked up at him again teary eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said.

She gently held his hands, making his heart skip a beat as he felt her touch.

"It was a long time ago." She said. "I just thought about doing something different this year in his memory."

Connor squeezed her hand one more. "I could go with ye, if you want." He said.

She smiled without showing her teeth. "That would be great."

_And she's back. _Connor thought as she smiled showing her perfect teeth again. She let go of his hand and he almost sighed in disappointment. Both kept eating in silence again.

"Is Murphy back already?" She said, after a while. He chuckled and answered,

"Yeah. Yer friend did a great job."

Julie laughed. "Oh, Hadley."

She looked at him, taking a swig of her coffee. She almost spit it on Connor when she saw what was behind him. It was an old fashioned black stereo sitting on a small table on the back of the diner. She stood up walking toward it, leaving Connor frowning on the table. She gently touched the device, like it would break at her touch.

"Do you mind?" She looked at him, pointing to the stereo.

"Not at all." Connor replied, standing up too.

She reached for her jacket pocket, taking an AUX cable and connecting to her phone.

"What's that?" He asked, walking toward her.

"An AUX cable." She answered, connecting the other part of the cable on the stereo.

"Ye always carry an AUX cable in yer pocket?" He laughed.

"Yeah, you don't?" She smiled at him.

A song started playing, as she hit play on her phone. A bustling song, that Connor didn't recognize, started playing. Julie started to moving her shoulder and nodding her head, and it took a few seconds for him to realize that she was dancing.

"What song is it?!" Connor said, raising his voice for her to listen to him.

"Jungle Boogie!" She replied and when Connor frowned, she shook her head laughing. "1974?" No response from the Irishman. "You've never watched Pulp Fiction?!"

He shook his head, laughing at her dance moves. She took off her leather jacket, revealing a U shaped neckline on her long sleeved dress. She reached out for him, still dancing, inviting him to dance. Connor just shook his head.

"Oh come on!" She walked toward him, grabbing his hands.

"I'm too old, darlin'." He tried to talk her out of it.

"When are you gonna stop complaining about that and start having fun?!" She pulled him to the middle of the diner, moving her shoulders. "No one is watching!"

Connor observed her dancing for a while, before starting dancing too. She smiled at him, as she turned around, inventing her only dance moves.

And that was the moment he realized he had to live a little more. When they moved to New York, he felt depressed. He felt like his heart belonged to Boston. His brother was right, he had stopped living. He was depressed, unhappy with the new life style. He hated the normal life. But in that moment, Connor realized. Normal life wasn't so bad after all. When he looked at Julie, and her beautiful smile, he knew. He could live a normal life, as long as he was with her.

The girl laughed as the song ended; out of breath she bumped on Connor and he held her in his arms. She smiled, giggling and looking at him. He smiled as well, looking at her eyes. A slow song started to play; a masculine voice started to sing the words that Connor related so hard.

_"My nights don't seem so endless, my days don't feel bad._

_I'm walking on a cloud, and there's music in the air."_

"I love this song." Julie said, wrapping her hands around his neck, and starting an awkward slow dance with him. Connor awkwardly hugged her lower back, pulling her close. Then she surprised him. She started singing the words of the song.

"Through the lonely years, I find my dreams coming true." Her voice echoed, even louder than the song playing. "Since I first met you."

He smiled at her, taking her hand and putting the other one on his own shoulder; putting his other hand on hiker waist to give her a proper dance. They slowly moved side to side, through the music beats. She leaned her head on his chest, feeling his heart beat hard.

"You have a beautiful voice." Connor said. She smiled, even though he couldn't see.

"Thanks." She replied.

The voice kept singing, echoing the diner.

_"Now my heart's no longer empty, those happy days are here._

_My face is full of gladness; my eyes shed no more tears."_

Julie looked up at Connor with big brown eyes.

_"I found myself a new love; at last I found a true love. _

_Honey, now that I have you."_

The song ended and both stood there, still on a dancing pose, just staring at each other.

"Don't you just love that?" She whispered in silence.

"What?" He whispered back.

"These... Uncomfortable silences." Looked at his mouth, and then in his eyes. "Why do we feel it's necessary to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable?"

"Is that… Mia Wallace?" He smiled at her.

"I thought you said you've never saw Pulp Fiction." She smiled back.

"I didn't say that." He let go of her hand and laced his hands together behind her small back, making her put her hands on his shoulder.

"Funny." She said, suddenly.

"What now?"

"I met you yesterday, but it feels like a long time."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

She shrugged slightly. "I don't know." She mumbled. "Something good, I guess."

She gave him a half smile. That was it, couldn't take it anymore. He leaned his head toward her, craving her lips against his. Both closed their eyes, waiting for the moment that was interrupted last night.

But then, they heard a pan falling on the ground, coming from the kitchen. Julie unintentionally squeezed Connor's shoulders, and both jumped with fright again. He tried not to sigh and roll his eyes in front of her.

"Connor, I think someone's here." She said, with a scared voice.

He frowned at her and saw she was more terrified than a normal person would be.

"I'm sure it's nothing." He said, putting a hand on the side of her face.

"But what if it is?" She let go of his shoulders, looking at the kitchen again. He looked into her eyes and planted a kiss on her forehead, sighing.

"Don't worry." He said, letting her go. "I'll see what it is."

He walked toward the kitchen to see some pans on the floor. Romeo should've hung it better on the last night. There was no one on the kitchen, or in the backroom, or any sign that anyone had broke in the place. When he got back, Julie was sitting on the table, with a concerned look on her face. Her phone was already on the table and she was dressed on her jacket.

"There's no one here." Connor said, sitting in front of her. She sighed, relieved. There was a silence before he speaks up. "Yer okay?"

She looked up at him and blinked a few times. "Yeah." She tried to smile. "It just... Ever since my father's death, I've been living in this panic life."

"Why's that?" He frowned. She took a deep breath and looked down again. He reached for her hand again, making her look at him once more.

"Because he was murdered." She answered. Connor squeezed her hand and stood up, walking toward her and wrapping his arms around her. She wasn't crying, but was about to. She buried her face on his neck and took a deep breath, smelling his scent.

"I'm sorry." He said, stroking her hair. She stood still, enjoying the moment in his arms, wanting him to never let go.

~oOo~

After following Julie to the church, he watched her as she lit a candle for her father. She closed her eyes and mumbled a prayer and made the cross sign. Connor felt I little bad for going to the church without Murphy or Romeo like he always use to, but he felt like this girl needed him.

When they walked out of the church, both sat on a bench on the front yard of the building. They were in silence, just observing the few people passing by. Connor put his arm around her shoulders and she lay her head on his shoulder.

"Hear that?" She whispered.

"What?"

"The comfortable silence."

He smiled. "There's a new kind of silence now?" He teased her.

She laughed, lightly and went silent. She reached for his hand and laced their fingers together. "I can't believe I was lucky enough to find someone to share these comfortable silences with."

Connor felt his heart beat faster and didn't answer. He felt the same thing for the girl. He felt like he was finally getting out of the dark, and she was the light. He tried to brush these thoughts away, he only had met the girl in the day before and he was already falling for her.

"Thanks for coming with me." She said, closing her eyes.

"No problem, darlin'." He answered.

They were like that for a while, hearing each other's breathing. Connor didn't know how much time had passed, before they started to walk through the streets again, talking about silly things.

"Yer gonna work tonight?" He asked.

"Yep." She nodded. "You're gonna go to the bar again?" She nudged his arm, playfully.

"Thinking about it." He smiled to her.

They walked more for a few time, then stopped in front of a brick building. Julie sighed and looked up.

"So, this is it." She said and looked at him. "See you tonight?"

He shrugged. "If Murph force me to go, I won't complain." He smirked.

She smirked too, looked at the ground. "Okay, then."

"One more thing." He said, reaching her chin and making her look at him. Without warning, he pressed his lips against her, giving her a simple kiss. She felt her heart beat even harder as he pulled away from her. She looked at him with big surprised eyes, smiling lightly.

"Sorry." He smiled. "I just had to."


	3. Chapter 3: The Bar Incident

_**A/N**_: **(I edited this chapter after realizing a few grammar mistakes, lmao, I'm so stupid- _that's why the repost, okay thanks for your patience, ily_) **Dammit, writing two fanfics is hard, lmao. Anyway, I forgot to say on last chapter that **I edited the chapter one of this story**. I changed some important details, so if you want you can check it out.

I didn't really like the way this chapter came out, but oh well. I tried lmao. Hop you like it.

~oOo~

Julie was smiling at the memory of their first kiss, with fingertips touching her own lips. She was already at the bar, dressed in her short skater skirt and her blue shirt again. The bar wasn't open yet, so she sat on a "bench" in the dressing room, thinking to herself.

"_Sorry." He said. "I just had to."_

_The girl smiled shyly, looking at the ground. Connor's smile disappeared when she didn't reply him._

"_Julie?" He called, making her look at him. "I'm sorry, I-"_

_The girl interrupted him by pulling the lapel of his coat, bringing his lips to hers, and meeting him for a much warmer kiss. She pulled away for a second and smiled at him._

"_Just shut up." She said, and then kissed him again._

"Why are you smiling like that?" Hadley entered the room, making her jump scared again.

"Just thinking." She said, shaking her head and turning to face her as she put her purse in one of the lockers. "So, how was last night?"

Hadley smirked and took off her jacket, sitting in front of Julie.

"It was perfect." She replied. "We stayed up all night long."

"Oh, my God!" Julie exclaimed. "How many times did you-"

"No, it wasn't much." She interrupted the brunette. "We were a bit drunk of course, but we talked and we laughed, and we watched a movie, and oh my God, Julie! He's perfect."

Julie laughed and Hadley grabbed her shoulders, pulling her for a hug. "Thank you so much for introducing us." She said. "You're my new best friend now."

"Uh…" Julie mumbled, but Hadley kept hugging her. Julie stood still, hesitating to hug her back.

"C'mon, you dork." Hadley said, still hugging her. "A hug won't kill you."

Julie laughed, a little nervous and, eventually ended up hugging her new friend back. Hadley also laughed.

"So, um…" Hadley let go of Julie and stood up, starting to put her own waiter uniform. "Do you think they'll come tonight?"

"Well, I met-" Julie interrupted herself. She didn't want Hadley to know about Connor. What if the kiss was just a 'one time thing'? What if Connor wanted to keep their relationship in secret? What kind of relationship they were after all? She didn't even know him, and he didn't even know her. There were so many questions to be answered, so many things she wanted to know.

"Julie?" Hadley called her, snapping out of her thoughts. "Do you think they'll come tonight?"

Julie shrugged. "I don't know." She replied. "Did you get his number?"

Hadley turned around so Julie couldn't see her face. There was an awkward silence before Julie realizing what her embarrassment was about.

"You didn't get his number?!" She exclaimed. "He spent the night at your place and you didn't get his number?!"

"I didn't think about it, okay?" Hadley sat again on the bench and sighed, looking at the ceiling and smiling. "I was distracted by his beautiful body and big-"

"Hads, don't." Julie interrupted her friend and all they could do was laugh. "Don't worry. If he doesn't show up, I'll have a talk with him tomorrow morning."

"How? Do _you _have his number?" Hadley narrowed her eyes a little, frowning.

_No, I just know where he works and lives._

"No, but-" Julie tried to make an excuse.

"Julie, do you have his number?" Hadley asked in a much serious tone.

"What, no-" The girl sighed, giving up. "I met his brother, Connor, this morning and he gave me his number, okay."

It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a lie either. Hadley didn't seem to catch the lie, because she nodded and smiled.

"Oh." She said with a big grin on her face. "So you met the other brother." She playfully poked Julie's shoulder.

The girl sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm joking, you grumpy cat." Hadley laughed, standing up. "C'mon, I'll do your makeup this time."

~oOo~

"Mornin'." Murphy mumbled, sitting on the couch, rubbing his eyes.

Connor looked at him, with the book he was reading still on his hands. "More like good afternoon." He said, snorting. "Brought your milk, though."

Murphy frowned and looked at Connor with a confused face. "My milk?" He asked.

"You asked fer it." The other twin shrugged, looking back at his book.

"How were last night with that girl?" Romeo asked from his armchair, making Murphy jump, scared.

"Jesus!" He exclaimed. "You mean Hadley?" He made a pause to rub his eyes once more and Connor looked at him, waiting for an answer. "It was- It was nice."

Connor snorted and shook his head. "Just nice?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. "It wasn't what you told me in the morning."

Murphy looked at his brother, with a confusing expression; then Connor did a really bad impression of his baby brother's voice.

"But, Connor, she's perfect!" He said, mocking Murphy. Romeo started to laugh, leaned his back on the back of the chair. Murphy just looked confused, while his brother and his friend mocked and laughed of him. Connor wiped a little tear that joined the corner of his eye and sighed. "But tell me, brother." He put a hand on Murphy's shoulder. "In a sober way, how was it?"

Murphy stretched his limbs and yawned once more, remembering the night before; the corner of his mouth curving a little. "It was nice."

Connor gave a little laugh and got back to his book, thinking in a way to ask the question he wanted to ask. There was a long silence until Murphy finally spoke.

"We're going to the bar tonight?"

~oOOo~

The minutes on the clock seemed like hours to Julie, who looked to the doors every time someone entered the bar. She served the customers as usual, always with a smile on her face, but with a little bit of rush.

She wanted to see Connor again. She wanted to talk and laugh with him again; she wanted to know more about him, she even wanted to kiss him and dance with him again. Her thoughts were interrupted when Lana, her supervisor, called her.

"Julie! Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah." Julie answered, putting the tray on the lower shelves at the bar and following her to the alley. The cold wind hit them and both shivered, feeling goosebumps on their arms.

Julie looked at Lana's blue eyes and waited for her to say what she wanted. Her blonde hair was on a lower side bun and a strand of hair fell on her face, framing it.

"I'm gonna have to change your shift." Lana finally spoke. "Boss is gonna fire some girls and I'm gonna need you to stay on their shift."

Julie frowned, a little suspicious. "Okay..." She said. "What time is gonna be, then?"

"From 11pm to 4am."

"What?!" Julie exclaimed, echoing the bar. "I can't, I'm sorry."

"And why not?" Lana asked.

"It's too late for me to go home." Julie explained. "I don't have a car yet, and I'm pretty sure I don't wanna get raped and murdered on my way home."

Lana sighed. "If you don't want to replace them, we will have to fire you. You take it, or you're out."

Julie closed her mouth, forming a thin line and breathed through her nose, feeling the rage fill her chest.

"Fine." She said, in a firm tone.

"Great." Lana smiled. "You start tomorrow."

Julie watched as her supervisor walked away from her, entering the bar again.

"Bitch." She whispered on her own. She looked at the streets at the beginning of the alley and saw a strange person looking at her. She couldn't see his face, he was too far away, but she was sure he was looking at her. She felt the cold wind once more and shivered. Shaking her head, she entered the bar again.

She picked up the tray, trying to think of something else to make the rage go away.

"Julie, can you get the table eleven?" Hadley asked, rushing to get a few beers from the refrigerator. "I'm a little busy now."

"Sure." Julie answered, grabbing her note block and a pen. She walked through the crowded bar, toward the table eleven. She began to walk slowly when she heard a familiar laugh echoing the place. Her heart raced and she prayed that she was wrong.

But she was right; she knew the owner of the contagious laugh. He was surrounded by people, men and women, as usual; they were all laughing probably over some joke he told. She took a deep breath and walked towards them, not smiling this time.

"Julie?!" He said when saw her with his green eyes. "Is that really you?!"

Julie sighed and gave him a forced smiled. "Ethan." She sighed. "Didn't know you were in New York."

"Yeah, business travel." Ethan shrugged. "Where's your gun, huh?" He laughed.

She looked down to her note block and took a deep breath. "Yeah, what's gonna be for you?"

"Ah." He leaned on the back of the chair. "You know me."

Julie tilted her head, still looking at the block notes.

"Scotch." She said, writing it down. "For everyone?"

"Yeah, it's on me today." He replied and everyone cheered. "Bring the bottle!" He exclaimed to her back, as she walked away from them.

"Yes, sir." She mumbled to herself, walking toward behind the bar, grabbing one of the bottles of whisky and a bunch of glasses. She picked up the tray and walked toward them again.

Ignoring Ethan's commentaries, she served them all in silence and got out of there before she could know it. She sat at the dressing room, listening to the loud voices and laughs. She didn't think of Connor, she didn't think of Ethan. In fact, seeing her ex boyfriend made her remember the real reason why she moved to New York. She was getting distracted. And she couldn't make the same mistake twice.

~oOo~

It was around 11pm that the MacManus brothers entered the bar. Connor wanted to come earlier, but his brother kept complaining about the head ache he was feeling. They ended up showing up late, and both had agreed in staying just for thirty minutes, because they had to work in the next morning. Connor didn't mind. Thirty minutes were enough for him, as long as he saw Julie. They sat down in a table and waited for some waiter to attend them.

"Oh my God, Julie!" Hadley exclaimed, calling her friend who was behind the bar, serving some customers. "They're here!"

Julie laughed lightly. "Can you get them?" She asked, pouring vodka in someone's glass. "I'm a little busy here."

Hadley opened a bright smile on her face and nodded, turning around and straightening her posture.

"Hi, guys!" She said, looking only at Murphy who winked at her. Connor could swear the chemistry was killing him. "What can I do for you, now?"

"Just two beers." Murphy replied and then gave her a grin. "For now."

Hadley giggled, writing down the order.

"Anything else?"

"Is Julie here?" Connor heard the sound of his own voice asking, immediately realizing the mistake he made. His face turned red, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Hadley spoke before him.

"Yeah, she's behind the-" She stopped talking when saw that Julie had disappeared from where she was before. "Well, she was behind the bar. I'll tell her you're looking for her, anyway."

She smiled once more, looking at Murphy, and then turned around to get their drinks. But instead of going to the refrigerators, she entered the dressing room where she saw Julie putting her jacket. Her tag name and the apron were already on the locker she always used.

"What are you doing?" Hadley asked.

Julie looked over her shoulder and replied. "Home. My shift is over."

"Yeah, in like twenty minutes!" Hadley frowned.

"I'm not feeling very well, so I'm going home earlier." She started to zip her jacket.

"Does Lana know that?"

Julie froze in her place. "No." She said quietly. "And I would appreciate if it stayed like that."

"Oh, come on!" Hadley walked toward her. "You know, Murphy's brother asked about you." She gave a smiled and touched her shoulders.

Julie sighed. "His name is Connor." She rolled her eyes. "And tell him to find another waiter-"

"He didn't ask for you as a waiter." Hadley started to pull Julie toward the door. "I think he just wants to see you."

Julie stood still on her place while Hadley tried to pull her to inside the bar.

"Hads, please." She said. "Just tell him I'm not feeling okay."

Hadley stared at her. She could smell the bullshit coming from Julie's words, but she didn't say a thing.

"Okay." She said quietly. "Take care on your way home."

Julie smiled lightly and nodded, walking toward the back door and leaving the place. Hadley sighed and turned around to serve the boys. Grabbing her tray and the beers, she walked toward their table. Connor looked anxious at her, waiting for an answer. Hadley looked at him and felt bad for the Irishman. She smiled and opened the beer bottles, trying to think in what to say to him. The woman took a deep breath and told him the truth.

"Julie just left." She said.

Connor frowned, feeling his heart drop. "What?"

"She said she wasn't feeling okay and left earlier." Hadley sighed.

The look on Connor's face broke her heart. She didn't know him, but she could tell he was sad and disappointed. She leaned down, toward him and put her hand on top of his.

"If I were you, I'd go after her." She said looking in the man's eyes. "Because I call that bullshit."

Connor smiled and stood up. "Thanks, Hadley."

The Irishman walked toward the doors, trying not to run. He looked at the streets, looking for any sign of the girl until he saw her on another block; he ran toward her.

"Julie!" He yelled and she stopped walking.

She didn't look at him; she didn't turn around to face him. Instead, she decided to ignore him and kept walking like she hadn't heard him. Connor ran faster to catch up with her.

"Julie!" He breathed, putting an arm on her shoulder. She looked at him, biting her bottom lip. "Hadley told me you weren't feeling okay."

"Yeah." Julie replied quietly.

"What happened?"

She just shook her head and turned around to leave, but he held her in her place.

"Julie?"

She sighed. "My ex boyfriend were at the bar, okay?" She said, taking her hands off her pocket. "He made me realize…" She paused and looked at Connor's tattoo on his neck. She sighed once more and looked at the ground. "Seeing him again made me remember the real reason why I moved to this town."

He frowned at her and she looked at him with sad eyes.

"I don't understand-" Connor said and Julie interrupted him.

"You don't have to." She sighed. "I tend to push people away when I realize they're going to hurt me."

"What- Julie, I'm not gonna hurt you-"

"You will." She interrupted him once more. "I know you will, Connor."

Connor cupped her cheeks with both of his hands. "Yer wrong." He said, looking at her eyes. "Ye told me today that you were lucky to meet me. Truth is I'm the lucky one."

He saw her eyes fill with tears, but he kept talking.

"Julie, I was depressed before I met you, I see that now. What makes you think I'm gonna hurt the only person that actually makes me happy?"

He wiped a tear the streamed down on her cheek; she felt the leather of his glove touching her face and held his hands.

"You won't?" Her voice was quiet, like if she talked louder he would go away.

"I won't." He smiled at her and returned the smile, looking at the ground.

"Hey." He called her, making her look at him. He leaned toward her and pressed his lips against hers, only pulling them apart to whisper. "What do ya think 'bout coming back to the bar?"

She kissed him again, hooking her arms behind his neck, making him put his hands on her hips. "No." She moaned against his lips. "Ethan is still there."

"Yer ex?" He laughed lightly, still with his lips on hers. "Don'cha wanna show him yer with another man now?"

She pulled away from him, looking at his eyes with a surprised expression.

"What?" He asked, feeling his heart skip a beat.

"We're… Together?" She asked; her lips curving into the tiniest smile Connor ever saw.

"Yep." He gave her another kiss and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the bar.

~oOo~

When they entered the bar, the place seemed more crowded than before.

"I thought today was Sunday!" Connor exclaimed through the loud conversations at the bar. "Why is it so crowded here?!"

"I don't know!" Julie replied. She grabbed Connor's hand and they walked together through the people; he went in front of her pulling her and walking toward the table Murphy was… Or at least he expected his brother was still there.

"Julie!" He heard a voice calling her name and felt her hand squeeze his, like she had tensed up.

A man with orange hair, with green eyes and freckles showed up through the crowd and smiled at Julie. Connor suddenly felt his stomach churn, but Julie kept quiet all the time. Ethan approached Julie, with a smile on his face; Connor could see he was drunk.

"Baby, I've made a mistake." He said, holding her shoulder; the smell of alcohol invading Julie's nose. "I didn't mean leaving you there."

"I- I don't wanna talk to you, Ethan." Julie said, getting away from him, but he grabbed her upper arm so tight that made her whimper bit, pulling her closer to him. She let go of Connor's hand without realizing and Ethan held her close to him, their chests touching.

"Hey!" Connor exclaimed, grabbing Julie's shoulder and pushing her behind him, in a protective way. "Don't touch her." He said looking to the shorter man, with a serious look on his face.

"Who the fuck are you?" Ethan asked, his british accent accentuating in each word he spoke; looking up at Connor who clenched his hands in fists, ready to beat the shit out of him. He suddenly felt Julie's tiny hands touching his, through the gloves and relaxed his body, looking down at her.

"He's not worth it." She said, looking up at him. Connor started to turn around to leave when heard her ex boyfriend call him.

"Bet you're her new pimp, right?" He said, laughing with the others guys.

That was it, Connor couldn't take it anymore; the Irishman flew toward Ethan and grabbed his shirt collar. Julie tried to stop it, but it was already too late. Connor punched Ethan in the face, making his nose bleed. Immediately, Ethan's friends were on Connor and everything was chaos. Murphy noticed the men on his brother and ran toward them, trying to stop them. Everyone at the bar were either joining him or watching the fight.

"Stop!" Ethan yelled from the top of his lungs. The entire bar stopped fighting and turned around to see Julie holding a gun Ethan's face who was with his hands up. Connor never saw her expression like that; she wasn't playing, she was being serious.

"Good boy." She said looking at him, her voice was firm, like she was giving him an order.

"You're still good-"

"Shut the fuck up." Julie interrupted Ethan. "Tell your people to get the fuck outta here now. Or I'll pull the trigger."

"You wouldn't." Ethan shook his head.

"Look at my finger." She said. Connor looked at her finger on the trigger, ready to shoot. It was like she was a professional at what she was doing.

"Alright, alright." Ethan breathed, his nose still bleeding. "Guys, let's go, I'm right behind you."

Slowly, the guys that were sitting at the table with him earlier walked out of the bar.

"Can I have my gun back?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

She lowered the gun, taking the finger off the trigger and removing its magazine, putting it on her jacket pocket. She pressed the gun hard on his stomach and looked deep into his eyes.

"Cross me again, and I won't hesitate." She said, with a quiet voice and serious look on her face.

Ethan took the gun and walked slowly out of the bar. Everyone was in silence, waiting for someone to move. Julie looked to all of them, like she was defying them to fight her. She then looked at Connor who was with a small wound above his left eyebrow. Her eyes softened when she saw the blood; she walked toward him with a concerned look on her face. The people at the bar slowly came back to reality and- a little tensed up -kept drinking and living their lives.

"I'm sorry." She said to Connor, holding his chin to look at the wound better.

He was still a little surprise by her attitude, but the brushed it off and shook his head.

"I'm fine." He managed to say.

Julie looked at Murphy who was with Hadley by his side. "Murphy?" She asked, still with the concerned look on her face.

The Irishman just nodded at her and she looked at Hadley.

"I didn't know you were such a badass." Her friend tried to make a joke to make the things less tense. Julie looked at the ground, sighing.

"I shouldn't have done that." She breathed and then looked at Connor. "I'm sorry." Her eyes filled with tears again and she started to cry.

"Hey." Connor called her, pulling her for a hug. He felt her burry her face on his neck and shake from crying. "It's okay, we're fine."

Deep inside down, Connor knew it wasn't. That girl had a past, he could see that. It was a dark past, just like the MacManus brothers'. He looked at Murphy who looked back at his brother. He knew what his look meant. Julie wasn't as sweet and innocent as they thought. Julie was trouble.


	4. Chapter 4: The First One

_**A/N:**_ UGH, FINALLY. You have no idea of how much I struggled to write this chapter. But it's finally here, yay. I have a feeling you might like this chapter, because what's a good fanfics without a good smut, right? It's actually the first time I wrote smut, and my friend from tumblr, Stacey, helped me A LOT with it. So I owe her everything. Thank, Stacey, I love you. Anyway, enjoy this one and tell me what you think, I love reading your reviews!

~oOo~

_"No, Connor, I'm sorry, I have to go." Julie said with tears in her eyes. _

_"Julie, let me help ye." Connor followed her, toward the doors. They were out of the bar again. "Julie." He tried to grab her arm but she was too fast. She turned to face him, tears strains on her face; it killed him to see her like that._

"_What the fuck happened?" He asked._

_Julie stared him for a moment and then looked at the streets. She saw someone coming out of the alley beside the bar, where the workers use to hang out in their break. She couldn't see who was, probably some other waiter. She looked at Connor again; her makeup messed up from the crying earlier._

"_You don't wanna know." She said quietly._

"_Julie-"_

"_Connor." She interrupted him._

_The Irishman sighed. As much as he wanted to know about the incident, as much as he wanted to know about her past, about her darkest secrets, he knew it wasn't the right time. If she wanted to keep her secrets from him, he would not insist on it. After all, he also had the darkest secrets hidden on his past. He raised his hand and touched her face. She closed her eyes and sighed, giving him a little smile._

"Shit, turn the volume up!" Hadley exclaimed, looking up to the TV; snapping Connor out of his memories. The girl was hanging out at the diner since after lunch, talking to Murphy mostly. He didn't blame her, Connor was so lost in his thoughts and didn't talk much with his –apparently– sister in law. The diner was already empty, close to the closing time and Hadley was already in her fifth iced tea. Murphy was sitting beside her, with an arm around her.

"Aren't ye supposed to be on work already?" Murphy mumbled on her ear.

She frowned, sucking tea from the straw on her cup, trying to ignore him. "They switched my shifts." She answered. "Connor! The volume!"

Connor let go of rag he was using to clean the balcony and reached for the TV, pressing the buttons to turn the volume up. It was on the same news channel that always were, but the news were different this time.

"The body found this morning behind a bar already has identification." The news lady spoke and everyone was listening to it. "The woman's name is Lana Winters and she worked at The Phoenix, the bar she was found behind."

Hadley covered her mouth and widened her eyes.

"Isn't this the bar-" Murphy started to talk, but she interrupted him.

"She was my supervisor." She whispered.

Connor looked at the girl. "Ye were close to her?" He asked.

"No, but…" She replied. "She was the boss' wife."

"I'm sorry." Murphy said quietly and kissed her temple.

Connor watched both sitting there; Murphy hugging Hadley in comfort, she leaning her head on his shoulder. It made him miss Julie. It made his heart beat stronger. He frowned lightly, turning around to face the TV, when he heard Hadley's phone ring.

"Julie?" She answered the phone.

Connor immediately turned around to face Hadley.

"Wow, calm down." Hadley frowned. "Take a deep breath and talk slowly."

Connor's heart started to beat faster. His attention was in Hadley, waiting for an answer of Julie; he was worried about her. She didn't call or show up at the diner; after the bar incident, she just disappeared.

"Yeah, I just saw the news." Hadley said on the phone. "I wasn't close to her either, but she was our supervisor… And I don't even wanna know what the boss is gonna do about that. I wouldn't be surprised if the bar closed for a few days…"

She paused, listening to what Julie was saying.

"What?!" Hadley exclaimed. "Julie, you have to say that to the police!"

Connor frowned and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"Julie, if you were one of the last people to talk to her, maybe you saw something-"

Julie interrupted Hadley and Connor could hear some muffled sounds coming from her phone.

"What do you mean you don't talk to the police-" She suddenly looked at Connor, then looked away too quickly. "Yeah…" She said. "He's… Fine I guess."

Connor turned around and entered the dressing room. That was it, he was going to see Julie. He couldn't wait anymore, he missed her so much. He was going to pick his pea coat from the hanger when a thought crossed his mind. Could he be falling in love? He barely knew the girl. It was too soon to tell. All he knew was that he wanted to be with her, it didn't matter how, he just wanted them to be together. He grabbed his coat and dressed, walking out of the dressing room. Hadley had already turned off her phone and was talking to Murphy, while Romeo was mopping the floor.

"Gotta go." Connor said adjusting his coat.

"To where?" Romeo asked.

"Just… Out." Connor replied after a moment of silence. He didn't wait for an answer and left the diner, joining the cold air outside. God, how he hated that city.

He walked through the streets, trying to remember the way to Julie's apartment. He passed the church and walked a few more blocks, until he saw the familiar building he had seen on the day before. He stopped in front of the glass door, thinking; he didn't know her apartment. He stood there like an idiot, thinking what to do. He read the names on the buttons of the intercom; but he also didn't know her last name. He sighed cursing himself for knowing so little about the girl. He read the names again, until he saw a "J. Morgan" on the list.

_Morgan?_

He pressed the button and waited. A few seconds later, Connor smiled at the sound of Julie's voice on the intercom.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Julie, it's Connor." He answered. "I know I should've called but-"

"What? I can't hear you."

A noise of static started to echo on the intercom.

"It's Connor." He tried again.

"Hold on. If it's the Chinese food guy, just press the button twice, if it's not, I don't really care."

Connor didn't wait to think and tapped the button twice. Right after, a he heard a sound indicating that the glass door was open. He checked once more to see which apartment she lived on.

_22. Don't forget. It's 22._

He jumped the stairs up, feeling even more anxious to see her. He stopped at her door, out of breath and knocked twice on it.

"Well, that was fast." Julie said opening the door. Connor smiled at her when saw the girl on her short pajamas and a thin coat; her hair was up in a _really_ messy bun and she wasn't wearing any shoes. He laughed at her surprised face as she tried to close the coat, crossing her arms in front of her. "Connor?!"

"Hi." He smiled at her.

"What are you doing here?" She frowned, feeling her cheeks burn.

"Sorry, I just…" He stopped talking.

_Missed you._

"Well, come in." Julie gave him space to enter the tiny apartment. "It's freezing out there."

She closed the door behind her and took a deep breath, watching Connor observing her kitchen. She looked around to see if there was any dirty dish or something that might embarrass her in front of the Irishman. She ran a hand through her hair, realizing that she was still with the messy bun and quickly put it down, trying to brush it with her finger.

"You could have called." She said quietly.

"I know, I'm sorry." Connor turned around to face her and frowned, a little surprised.

"What?" Julie asked, feeling the color returns to her cheeks.

"Yer hair." He pointed to her, noticing that her hair that was shorter, only a little bit above her collarbone. "It's shorter?"

"Oh." She chuckled lightly, grabbing a strand of her hair, shyly. "I cut it myself. You liked it?"

She raised her eyebrows and he smiled. "It's beautiful."

She smiled to the floor. "Just wish you had called." She shrugged, still looking at the floor. "I'd had put something nicer instead of these stupid pajamas."

He approached her and cupped her cheeks with his cold hands. "You look beautiful in these stupid pajamas."

She smiled, chuckling too. Connor pressed his lips against hers, making her sigh. She hugged his torso, under his coat, feeling the heat of his body radiate to hers. He pulled his lips away from her and hugged her as well, feeling his chin brush on her hair. He noticed that it was the first time he ever hugged her. There were kisses and an arm around her, but never a real hug.

"Missed you." She whispered so low, Connor almost didn't hear it. It sounded like she almost expect him not to listen, but he did.

"Missed ye too." He replied.

She looked at him and gave him the biggest smile. "C'mon, let's go to the living room, it's freezing here."

She led him to the small living room, where he could see a couch with a purple blanket and a pillow lay on it, a turned on TV, a small phone table where a laptop were sat on it, with a chair beside. There was a big window, the type the goes from the ceiling to the floor, beside the couch and her curtains were white, but needed a stop on the laundry.

"Sorry about the mess." Julie said, walking quickly and grabbing her pillow and the blanket from the sofa and putting on the chair. "Make yourself comfortable."

"I don't mind." He replied, sitting on the couch. She sat on it as well and both stayed in silence for a moment.

"How was your day?" Julie broke the silence.

Connor shrugged. "Same as always. Just got out of te dinner." Julie nodded. "Yers?"

"Went to the grocery store, then slept all day." She smiled lightly, rubbing her arms with her own hands.

Connor approached her and swung an arm around her. She folded her legs, and he took them, one by one and put them on his lap, so that Julie was sitting on the couch, but with her legs on his lap. He put a hand on her thigh and looked back at the TV. Julie watched him with a smirk on her face. He could feel her eyes on him, but didn't dare to turn to face her.

"That's warmer." She mumbled, trying to repress a smile and looking at the TV. This time, Connor looked at her. With his arm still around her, he started to caress her face. She looked at him and he smiled at her and approached to connect his lips together; his tongue asking for permission and she let him.

Julie kissed him back and felt his hand slide down to her inner thigh. Her heart started to beat faster and she opened her legs just a little. Connor understood that as a green sign and kissed her harder, slowly sliding his hand up, toward the middle of her legs; his fingertips slightly brushing her legs, sending shivers on her arms. The familiar heat lit up in the middle of her legs and she took a deep breath, her mouth still on his, sighing when he finally reached his destiny. His mouth left hers, only to leave nibbles on her jaw line and neck. He pulled her shorts to the side, noticing the lack of underwear and smiling on her neck line.

She could swear his fingers were magical; he touched her (already) wet warmth like no other man had touched her before. His thumb slowly making circles on her bundle of nerves, making her whimper in pleasure, grabbing the lapel of his coat. He suddenly stopped and pulled his hand away, making her growl in frustration. He lay her down on the couch, spreading her legs and putting himself between them; he leaned toward her, planting a kiss on her lips.

"I got ye, baby." He mumbled against her throat, licking and nibbling his way down on her chest. Of course the shirt she was wearing didn't help, but it wasn't a problem for him. He lifted her shirt all the way up, until her breasts were exposed to him. His, now warmer, hands cupped each breast, applying certain pressure and then pinching her nipples. She bit her lower lip and stared right into his eyes; he bent over her, planting small kisses on her stomach, slowly going down toward her warmth again.

"Connor…" She whispered.

His hands left her breast to give attention to her shorts, which were quickly removed, making Julie smile. Connor opened her legs, slowly brushing his fingertips on her inner thighs, making her gasp and increase the heat on her warmth.

"You're gonna kill me." She whispered between sighs and gasps. Connor chuckled and buried his face in the middle of her legs, working his tongue from the bottom to all the way up. She moaned loudly and cursed. He looked up to see Julie with eyes closed and eyebrows furrowed, her mouth slightly open, her chest going up and down from her heavy breathing.

"Shit!" She exclaimed when heard her phone ring.

"I'm not stopping." Connor mumbled against her warmth, smiling as he heard her groans. She reached out for her phone and looked at the screen.

"God dammit, Hadley!" She sighed, feeling Connor's mouth leave her. Julie looked at him with a disappointed expression on her face. He only gave her a playful smile and shook his head.

"I said I'm not stopping." He repeated and buried his face on her once more.

"Fuck!" She exclaimed, closing her eyes and finally answering the phone.

"Hey, Julie."She heard Hadley's voice on the phone.

"Hey, listen- Ahhh, now it's not a good tiiiime…" Julie tried to answer, but Connor had inserted a finger inside of her, using his thumb from the other hand to rub her bundle of nerves again.

"You okay?" Hadley asked.

"Yesssss…" Julie arched her back, feeling Connor slide one more finger inside of her.

"Okay… Listen, you asked to call you if I had any news about the bar."

"Hadley, I- Shit! I can't talk right now." Julie tried not to moan. "I'll call you back, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, Julie hung up the phone, letting it fall on the floor and grabbed Connor's hair moaning loudly. He smiled and replaced his thumb with his tongue, making circular movements and hearing her breath getting heavier and loud.

"Shit, Connor!" She yelled, feeling the first orgasm of the night. Connor felt her juices on his fingers, which he pulled out of her, making her squeak quietly. He looked at her, sucking on his own fingers, tasting her once more. She sat up on the couch, grabbing his coat and kissing him hard. She leaned against him, making him lean his back on the couch; her hands ran through his coat, trying to take it off from him. He shrugged the coat off, his mouth still on hers; he felt her hand rub the bulge on his jeans. She lightly squeezed it, making Connor buck his hips a little; she smiled, pulling her mouth away from his and looking at him.

"It's my turn, now." She whispered, making Connor even more turned on. She reached for his belt, unbuckling it so fast that he didn't even realize she had already opened the zipper until she touched his erection. Stroking him slowly up and down, she chuckled a bit when Connor let out a frustration groan. Julie looked at him, licking her lips and bent over to wrap her mouth around him.

"Oh, Julie." He sighed, feeling her saliva moisturize him, her tongue circling him, her hand wrapped around his hard member. She tried her best to fit all of him on her mouth, eventually bobbing her head up and down, making Connor throw his head to the back and close his eyes. "Oh, honey!"

He kept calling her sweet names like "baby" or "sweetheart" and she almost felt guilty for not calling him anything. She eventually increased the speed, making Connor grab a fist full of her hair and take a deep breath; she knew he was close.

"Baby, I'm gonna-" He interrupted himself to let a moan out of his throat, feeling his first orgasm of the night. Julie felt the result of the orgasm in the back of her throat and felt a little sick, but she didn't say a word. She swallowed everything without complaining and looked at him, with a smile on her face; he looked back and smiled at her, putting once hand at the side of her face. He pulled her face close to his and involved her in a passionate kiss, only pulling their lips apart to whisper.

"I want ye."

Julie smiled and kissed him again, this time with more urgency, showing him that she wanted him too.

"Fuck." She whispered, with her mouth on his when she heard the intercom ring from the kitchen, indicating that her food had arrived.

~oOo~

"Eat." Julie ordered to Connor as they sat down on the small kitchen table. Both were fully dressed again and Julie had opened her yakisoba box and offered him.

"What?" Connor asked confused.

"You must be hungry." She pointed to the box. "Eat."

"But this is yers."

"I don't mind sharing." She smiled and shrugged a little, handing him the chopsticks. He smiled at her, taking the chopsticks. Julie grabbed Connor's wrist, stopping him to pull his hand away from her. Now that he wasn't wearing his coat, only a gray sweater with the sleeves rolled up, she could see both of his tattoos and… His wrists scars. They were faded, but she could still see them, gently stroking her thumb on them; he remembered him of the day he did the impossible to save his brother's life. When she finally looked at him, with concerned eyes, she let go of his hand and grabbed her own wrist.

"What happened?" She said, taking a fork from the table and scoping into the yakisoba.

"Just an accident." Connor shrugged. "Long time ago." He took a bit of yakisoba and shoved in his mouth thinking fast in what to say, before she started to ask more questions.

"So." He said, chewing his food. "Morgan?"

She frowned at him, confused.

"Yer last name is Morgan?"

"Oh." She laughed. "Yes, it is."

"I didn't know that." He shoved more food on his mouth.

"And yours?" She smiled at him.

He swallowed, trying to think fast in another name. But, then, a thought crossed his mind. So what if Julie knew his last name. It wasn't like anybody had asked about him or Murphy on the last two years. He didn't see a problem in it.

"MacManus." He replied, taking a swig from his iced tea that Julie had offered him.

"MacManus." She repeated smiling. "That's very… Irish."

He chuckled. "How did ye know that?"

"Know what?" She sipped her iced tea.

"That I'm Irish?"

"You told me."

"I didn't." He shook his head.

"Oh." She frowned. "I don't know, then, I guess I just… Figured it out."

"How?"

"Your accent." She smiled.

"My accent, huh?"

"Yes, sir, your accent."

Both chuckled and continued eating, sharing a box of yakisoba, until eventually was over.

"How long have ye been living in New York?" Connor asked.

"Moved last week." She said, drinking her tea. "Wanted a fresh start." Connor nodded. "Leave the past behind." She looked down at her hands. "Didn't go as well I thought it was going to."

Connor looked at her, remembering the last night events.

"It seems like the past…" She stopped talking, like she was trying to find the courage to say it.

"Always haunt ye." He completed her sentence.

Julie nodded at him, then shrugged, looking down. Connor opened his mouth to say something, but she spoke before him.

"You never told me what that tattoo meant." She pointed to Connor's hand. He looked at it and shrugged.

"'Veritas'?" He asked and Julie nodded. "Means 'truth' in latin."

She raised her eyebrows. "Oh." She replied. "You like the truth that much?"

Connor chuckled. "I don't think anyone likes being deceived." He answered, finishing his tea.

Julie turned serious for a moment, looking to an empty space, like she was thinking in something. Then, she smiled at him, without showing her teeth and took a deep breath.

"I know what you are." She said, looking at his eyes and smirking.

Connor swallowed and felt his heart race, scared.

_Does she knows?_

"What?" It was all he could say.

"You're a Jesus freak." She smiled and he almost sighed, relieved. He tried to laugh with her. "C'mon. The cross on your forearm, the Mother Mary on your neck. Veritas on your finger. You _are _a Jesus freak."

Connor chuckled. "Ye got me."

They laughed and stayed in silence for a while.

"I should call Hadley." She said, laughing lightly and standing up. "Make yourself comfortable."

Connor quickly stood up and grabbed her arm, pulling her for a kiss and cupping her cheeks. "Can't she wait?" He mumbled on her mouth. Julie laughed and pulled away from him.

"It'll be fast." She said, smiling. "Make yourself comfortable."

After she left the kitchen, Connor put the dirty dishes on the sink (a habit he got from working at the diner) and sat on the couch again, sighing. This time, he was beside the small table and he could see her laptop half opened. He peeked over it and saw it was turned on, on a Google page. He looked over the small hallway to see if she was coming, and peeked even more on the computer. He widened his eyes and felt his heart race when saw what she was searching on Google.

_"The Saints of Boston"_

He quickly closed the laptop and walked toward the kitchen, grabbing his coat. It was a mistake, going there. He knew it was good to be true; she was trouble, and a big one.

"Connor?" He heard a quiet voice from behind him as he reached the doorknob. He turned around to see Julie with red eyes and a sad look on her face. "Why are you leaving?"

"Uh..." He looked at her, not knowing in what to say. "My brother called me." He lied.

She laughed, scoffing a little. "I fucking knew it." She said, really quiet. "I thought you were going to be different, but you're just like them."

"Julie, I don't-" He tried to reason.

"You come here, eat me out, get a blowjob and most important, you eat my fucking food and then you just... Leave?!" She frowned, tears forming on her eyes, her mouth forming a thin line. "It was too good to be true."

A single tear streamed on her face and she looked away, whipping it quickly.

"No, Julie, no." He walked toward her, but she stepped back.

"Just go." She didn't look at him.

Connor didn't leave. He didn't move. He wanted her. But she was trouble. But he wanted her so bad. It was a dilemma. He wanted her so bad, not just for the night, but always. But he knew she was hiding something. Something important. Making his decision, he quickly tried to grab her, but her reflexes were fast. She dodged from him, even before he could touch her.

"Leave!" She exclaimed, more tears forming on her eyes.

He tried again and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her close to him. She fought and struggled, but he was stronger than her.

"Let me go!" She protested but he didn't obey her.

"No." He said in a firm tone. Julie stopped struggling when she heard his voice.

"Why?" She looked up at him, a little bit of fear her eyes. Connor loosened her grip on her and cupped her cheek with one hand.

"Because I'm not like them." He said, looking in her eyes. "Because I want ye."

He closed the space between them and pressed his lips against hers. She didn't fight and kissed him back, putting her hands on his shoulders. He grabbed her thighs and lifted her up.

"Yer bedroom?" He asked, still kissing her.

"Second door to the right."

He carried her toward the bedroom, almost kicking the door open. Once he dropped her on the one person bed, he shrugged his coat off, taking his sweater and shirt off right after. Julie smiled as he leaned down to kiss her again; his hands on her stomach under her shirt. She quickly sat down and took off her coat, her mouth never leaving Connor's. His hands moved up, taking her shirt off and laying her again on the bed. He moved to her neck, nibbling and kissing his way down to her breasts. Julie felt like heaven. As his mouth drove her crazy, she gasped and sighed with eyes closed. While his mouth gave attention to one breast, his hand gave attention to the other.

It didn't take long for his hands move down to her shorts. Without ceremony, he shoved them down and knelt on the bed, unbuckling his belt. Julie kept looking at him with a smirked on the face and legs open; he smirked at her too, quickly standing up and stepping out of his shoes. Once his pants were on the floor, he climbed in her bed and leaned against her, guiding himself into her warmth. She closed her eyes, letting a low moan escape her throat as she felt him entering her. He gave her time to get used to his member and slowly started to thrust on her.

Her breath started to increase, and she hugged him, digging her nails on his back. He didn't mind, if fact, he didn't even feel it. Eventually, his breath increased and the thrusts were harder.

"Fuck, Connor!" She exclaimed, feeling the sensation come to her. She curled her toes and dug her nails in him even more. Connor kissed her neck as she came, tightening her walls around him and making Connor groan. He nibbled her neck and shoulder, speeding his movements on her. He moaned as he felt his orgasm, burying his face on Julie's neck. She could feel his member throbbing inside of her and smiled, sighing.

"Shouldn't we had used protection?" He mumbled, his face still on her neck. She moved hands up and curled her finger on his hair. He looked up to her and she smiled to him.

"I'm on the pill." She replied. "Cramps are too bad, baby."

He sighed relieved and lay beside her, pulling himself out of her and looking at the ceiling. She turned on her stomach and put her hands on his chest, leaning her chin on them. He put an arm around her and brushed his fingertips on her back, slowly, sending shivers on her skin. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened, her brown eyes meeting his blue ones. They stayed like that in silence until they breaths came back to normal. Connor tried not to think of what he saw on her laptop and focused on her face.

"Yer beautiful." He said, quietly. She gave him a tiny smile and looked down to his chest. Her eyes traced every inch of him, including the scar on his shoulder. She gently brushed her fingertips on it; a vague look on her eyes, like her mind was somewhere else.

"You're beautiful too." She whispered and then went serious. Connor's fingers curled on her hair and he sighed.

"Your brother didn't call you, did he?" She asked, quietly. He sighed.

"No." He answered, looking at ceiling.

She frowned, taking a deep breath and calming herself. "Why?"

He looked at her and stroked her forehead with his thumb. "Don't be mad." He said, quietly. She didn't answer and waited for his response. He sighed once more, gathering the courage to tell her the truth. "I saw yer laptop back at the living room."

She frowned confused, and Connor didn't see any sign of anger on her, so he kept talking.

"I saw ye were searching for the Saints on Google."

"That's why you were leaving?" She asked, her voice tone increasing. "Because I was curious?"

"Ye were curious about them? Why?" He frowned.

Julie let go of Connor and sat on the edge of the bed, with her back turned to him. He sat in the bed as well, with one hand on the mattress and the other resting on his stomach.

"Julie?" He called her and she sighed.

"You're gonna think I'm crazy." She mumbled, almost inaudible. He approached her and touched her face from behind; she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Try me." He replied.

"I have an obsession." She confessed.

"For the Saints?"

She turned her face to look at him. "For serial killers."

Connor looked at her for a moment, processing what she said. She patiently waited, as he thought in what to say.

"And the Saints?"

She sat front of him and crossed his legs. "I was doing a little research." She said, looking at him. "Their first kill was the Russian mob leader Yuri Petrova, back in 1999, right?"

Connor frowned, nodding and remembering their "first" victim.

"After that, they killed Italian mob leader, Guiseppe Yakavetta, you know, Papa Joe." She paused, to make sure he understood; he nodded and kept talking. "Eight years later they killed Concezio Yakavetta, Papa Joe's son. Now, for someone to be a serial killer, they have to have four conditions."

"What?" Connor asked, confused.

"First of all they have to have a pattern. In the Saint's case, mob guys or just… Bad guys. Second, a ritual. Arms crossed to their chest, pennies on their eyes. They made sure to put the leader on his knees and shoot him in the head. I read an article saying that the bullets crossed inside their heads and exited through the eyes. How fucked up is that?" She looked at him with a weird look on her eyes. It almost looked like she enjoyed that kind of stuff. "The third condition is that they have to commit three or more murders in a short period of time."

She stopped talking and waited for Connor to connect the dots.

"But if they killed Yakavetta eight years later…" He said and Julie completed his sentence.

"They can't be considered serial killers." She smiled at him. "However, they killed two groups of men once in Boston, right after they killed Petrova. That makes four murders in 1999." She licked her lips, feeling excited about explaining that to Connor.

"And the fourth?" Connor asked, his heart already racing on his chest. If all she was saying was truth, Connor and Murphy weren't making justice. They were just murdering people.

"That's where it gets complicated." She looked down at her legs. "The fourth condition is that serial killers always have a trophy." Connor frowned and she explained. "They always took something from their victims. It could be anything, a piece of cloth, a personal object. Even blood." She paused and looked at him again. "The Saints can't be considered as serial killers because they don't have a fucking trophy." She laughed, scoffing at herself.

Connor was in silence, digesting everything she told him. He wondered how she had gathered that much information, but chose not to ask her. She was still looking at him, waiting for an answer, and he didn't know what to say. They weren't murderers, they were just doing what they thought it was justice. He looked at her again and smiled, shaking his head. He pressed his lips against hers with his hand on the side of her neck.

"Yer crazy." He told her after pulling his lips apart from her, grinning at her. She smirked and scoffed.

"I know."


End file.
